9pm Compilation...2020/08/09 · 9 PM Compilation for the Month of August (First week), 2020 Created with love by ForumIAS- the knowledge network for civil services. Visit academy.forumias.com

9pm

Compilation 1st to 9th August, 2020

9 PM Compilation for the Month of August (First week), 2020

Created with love by ForumIAS- the knowledge network for civil services. Visit academy.forumias.com for our mentor based courses.

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General Studies - 1

1. Tilak’s contribution

2. Urban migrant issue

3. Continuing Migrant problem

4. August Revolution and New India – Comparison

General Studies - 2

1. National education policy 2020

2. Reforming Urban Governance

3. NEP - right intention

4. NEP 2020 and Medium of Instruction

5. Kashmir policy and federalism

6. NEP issues

7. Right to Education violated in COVID

8. Online delivery of Justice

9. Preventive detention

10. One year of the abrogation of Article 370

General Studies - 3

1. Ecological restoration

2. Dilution in EIA

3. Indoor air pollution and LPG usage

4. Role of Indigineous people in REDD+ initiatives

5. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT – Proposed amendments

6. Reviving Economy

7. PM-KISAN

8. Development of Eastern States

9. Securing labours during covid crisis

10. Agricultural economy cannot drive growth across the overall economy

11. Need a bottom up approach to tackle the new economic challenges of 21st century

12. Labour industrial relationship

13. Resorting to Money Financing to revive the economy

14. Effect of declining tax collection on Economy

15. Self-reliance in the defence sector

16. The claim on Nuclear deterrence is misleading

17. Herculean task of digitising India

18. Increasing the demand by enhancing the income of Low paid work force



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General

Studies

Paper - 1



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General Studies – 1

Syllabus: GS-1- History

1. Tilak’s contribution

Source: The Indian Express

Context: on Tilak’s hundredth death anniversary, our government can learn useful lessons

in dealing with public protests from his two trials on sedition.

The first trial

In the famine of 1896 Tilak’s first trial for sedition had begun.

A series of articles were printed in the weekly newspaper Kesari which was started

by Tilak. Officials who insisted on collecting land tax even during a famine, and for

not implementing the Famine Relief Code were criticised in his newspaper.

To control the spread of the Bubonic plague struck Pune in 1897, the special duty

officer Walter Charles Rand adopted repressive measures under the Epidemic

Diseases Act, 1897.

Damodar Chaphekar murdered officer Rand and was convicted and hanged. Tilak had

written strong articles condemning the brutality of the measures adopted even before

this murder.

Tilak also justified the killing of Afzal Khan by Shivaji in his article. The Anglo-

Indian press bitterly criticised the British government for not taking action against

Tilak.

On July 27, 1897, Tilak was arrested and tried for sedition before the Bombay High

Court. Dinshaw Davar, his lawyer who got him bail was the same judge who gave the

order against him 10 years later.

W C Bonnerjee, a Congress leader, Moti Lal Ghosh, the founder of the Amrita Bazar

Patrika, and Rabindranath Tagore collected almost Rs 20,000 from donors and this

was used to send two leading English barristers from Calcutta as none of the lawyers

from Bombay High court were willing to appear for Tilak.

Tilak was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment by Strachey because of his

“disaffection” which constitutes the offence of sedition, under section 124A of the IPC,

was simply “the absence of affection”. Tilak’s article on the killing of Afzal Khan by

Shivaji was the part of the foundation of a case of sedition.

The British press noted that Strachey’s interpretation of “disaffection” would be

unacceptable in England whereas the decision was hailed by the Anglo-Indian press.

The second trial

The partition of Bengal and the killing of two English women by a bomb hurled by

Khudiram Bose led to large-scale repression. The Anglo-Indian press held Tilak

responsible for provoking the youth.

Tilak in his articles suggested that the best way to stop violence and bombs was to

grant self-rule to the people of India and also criticised the Explosives Act. He also

asked the government to stop repressing freedom.

Tilak was arrested in June 1908 and charged with sedition. M A Jinnah appeared for

Tilak and applied for bail, but this was rejected by Justice Davar, who had appeared

for Tilak in 1897.

Tilak argued his own case and stated that the English translation of his articles had

serious errors and asked for a correct version, but this plea was rejected.

A card was found from Tilak’s Pune residence on which he had written the names of

two books on explosives. Tilak explained that when he was writing an article on the

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/bal-gangadhar-tilak-death-anniversary-sedition-6533181/



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Explosives Act, he came across the names of these two books, but this card was the

basis of an allegation that Tilak was manufacturing bombs.

Davar accepted the majority verdict of the jury which consisted of seven

Englishmen/Anglo-Indians and two Indians and sentenced Tilak to six years

imprisonment.

The verdict was criticised by several newspapers. However, Tilak was sent to

Mandalay jail in Burma and returned in 1914.

Conclusion

Tilak’s imprisonment by invoking the law of sedition failed to suppress the freedom

struggle. Our government can learn useful lessons in dealing with public protests from his

two trials on sedition. Suppressing widespread dissent or criticism has always proved

counterproductive and so government should work out the opposite viewpoint and have the

grace to correct its path wherever necessary.

2. Urban migrant issue

Source: The Hindu

Context: The massive job loss due to the lockdown made several migrant workers in the

urban areas head back to their villages with almost no resources.

The issue of unemployment

The Indian labouring classes face issues of unemployment which is an outcome of the

fact that 93% of our economy is informal and the Industrial Disputes Act

encourages this trend.

It orders employers to pay compensation wages, and other benefits, only if workers

are hired, and are on the rolls, continuously for over 248 days.

Only a minuscule minority stays employed for long as law has had the unintended

consequence of making it attractive for management to periodically flip labour

around.

Forget the industrial glue

The job could be well paid and the worker may have even held it for some time yet the

pull of home and family is much stronger for the migrant worker than the industrial

glue that comes with an urban occupation.

A comparative approach might help to settle this issue:

In Surat in 1979, when there was a widespread fear that a satellite was going to fall

smack in the city centre and was going to cause untold deaths, a large number of

migrants there left for their villages.

In Surat, in 1994, the plague scare prompted over 6,00,000 to leave their work

stations for the railway station. In both these instances, jobs were not threatened, but

there was this perceived fear of death.

Only a few migrant workers left at the time of demonetisation in 2016 because this

distress was primarily economic, without a threat to life.

In 2020, when people started dying because of COVID-19, there was a drastic shift;

now, men without families went home because they did not want to die alone.

Data from the survey

A YouGov-Mint-CPR Millennial Survey conducted in 2020 tells us that the Indian

millennials depend on their parents’ real estate property and savings to give them a

start.

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-urban-migrant-and-the-ritual-tug-of-home/article3227



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A 2018 CBRE survey shows that 80% of young Indian millennials live with their

parents.

Census figures show that joint families are growing, although slowly, in urban India,

but declining in the villages.

Rituals and customs

It will take more than a job somewhere to overcome the fear of dying anonymously,

without proper ceremonies being performed as in both the religions there is a belief

that if rules, are not followed correctly, the soul of the dead person could suffer

everlasting pain in the other world.

If about 90% of slum dwellers in Dharavi stayed put, post lockdown, it was because

most of them lived with their wives and children and did not fear a death without

rituals.

Gender factor

Women actually form 55% (majority) of rural migrants to urban India but there

were fewer of them on highways it was because arranged marriages have brought

most of them to the city, not a flimsy job prospect.

Rural men migrate with tentative employment prospects and it will be a long time

before they can, if at all, imagine getting their families over.

About 72% of slum dwellings are owned, not rented and this shows the overwhelming

preference the poor have for family life, only if they could afford one.

Conclusion

The urban workers rush to their rural homes because they fear a death where nobody prays

for them instead of a life where nobody is willing to pay them.

3. Continuing Migrant problem

Source: The Hindu

Context: India’s labouring poor slip into chronic hunger and intense poverty after closure

of the entire economy, which was already in recession.

Present condition of the labouring class

Around 4000 homeless men in Delhi used to live on an embankment called Yamuna

Pushta, even though underpaid they managed to keep raw hunger at bay by eating

food provided by religious food charities in gurdwaras, temples and dargahs.

The Delhi government has mostly ended its free cooked food distribution programme.

At the peak of the programme, about 10 lakh people were being fed in over 1,000

centres.

The communities who used to survive on the edge of hunger even in normal times,

their condition is getting worse.

Casual daily wage workers, weavers, artisans, home-based workers, rickshaw-pullers

and street vendors are struggling to survive.

There are millions of new entrants into the ranks of the hungry, which include

laid-off employees of small enterprises and eateries, domestic workers, sex workers,

workers in the gig economy, and even teachers in low-income private schools and

those taking private tuitions.

Millions of people are learning to live in chronic hunger by:

Eliminating nutritious but unaffordable portions of one’s diet, including dal, milk,

vegetables, fruit, eggs and meat.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/an-invisible-humanitarian-crisis-in-india/article32289625.ece



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Reducing food intake, cutting down on both the quantity eaten during each meal and

the number of meals, teaching one’s body to endure with less and less.

Children who could earlier depend on the school or preschool centre for at least one

nutritious meal are now being sent out to work.

Public policy failures

400 million new workers are at risk of slipping into extreme poverty, of less

than $1.90 a day, according a United Nations University paper.

It is alarming that more than 250 million people are at risk of acute hunger and

“the location of global poverty is likely to shift towards middle-income countries and

South Asia and East Asia.”

At senior levels of the Indian government, there is little acknowledgement of the

depth of the crisis of hunger and the eradication of livelihoods.

The Finance Minister relies mostly on credit rather than on fiscal transfers to

revive the economy and MSME sector which employs most people outside

agriculture which is unmindful as:

When both demand and production have crashed, credit will have few takers and can

accomplish little.

Governments also wanted to revive the broken economy by excluding workers

from organisations of labour rights protections, presumably for attracting capital

investment.

Some governments attempted to extend the workday to 12 hours, to suspend the

protections of various labour laws for three years, and regulate the movement

of workers across State borders.

Abandoned by the state

India slipped to the 102nd position in the Global Hunger Report of 2019 that

ranked 117 countries. It had fallen behind its neighbours Nepal, Pakistan and

Bangladesh even before the pandemic.

As the COVID-19 infection spreads to States with the most broken public health

systems, such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, and with the homeless and the poor

being excluded from highly privatised health facilities in cities, the problems of

the poor will further worsen.

Way forward

The political establishment, the media and the middle class should focus on the crisis

from which these labouring poor classes are going through as with millions slipping

invisibly into chronic hunger and intense poverty, this is gravest humanitarian crisis

in over half a century.

Syllabus – GS 1 - The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important

contributors/contributions from different parts of the country

4. August Revolution and New India – Comparison

Source – Indian Express

Context - The 78th anniversary of the Quit India Movement, famously known as the

August Revolution in the history of India’s freedom movement, falls on August 9.

Mahatma Gandhi’s Quit India Movement

August revolution’s aim - On 8th August 1942, Quit India Movement, famously

known as August Revolution was launched by Mahatma Gandhi demanding an end to

British Rule of India.

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/the-spirit-of-the-august-revolution-6545003/



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Tagline - The slogan was “Karo ya maro”.

Opposition – Communist Party of India (CPI), opposed the movement as they

considered the Independence of India in 1947 was more a consequence of

international conditions and not a direct result of the Indian people’s struggle.

Social Base - The real strength of the Quit India Movement lay in the people who

participated and people who was their own leader during the movement. The will of

people was– “we want to be free and we shall be free”.

PM Modi’s New India Vision

Slogan of New India- “ Karenge Aur Karake rahenge” .

Aim - To achieve the goal of building a “New India” by 2022.

Issues with the New India Vision

Constitutional values are violated - The Foundation of a religion-based New India

was laid on August 5 in Ayodhya by the prime minister is against the value of

secularism as given in Constitution of India.

Way Forward- The people were their own leaders in the Quit India Movement. This is very

different from the vision of 'New India' of today which can only be successful if mass

participation of people is there and it’s a bottom up movement.



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General

Studies

Paper - 2



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General Studies - 2

Syllabus: GS2: Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social

Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

1. National education policy 2020

Source: Indian Express

Context: Analysis on National education policy 2020

Challenges to education:

Lack of political will to prioritise quality education.

Resistance to institutional changes by the educational institutions has failed to meet

the rising aspiration and demand for education.

Analysis on New Education Policy

It emphasises on critical thinking and free inquiry: which is possible only when

universities restraint themselves from political and cultural conformity in the era of

identity politics.

Objective of creating a new regulator, a new research foundation is appreciable

but lot depends on the norms these institutions adhere to and its implementation.

On the issue of language, the policy prefers the long-standing recommendation of

primary education in the mother tongue without making it compulsory.

It emphasises on engagement with Indian civilisational history: this can be

realised only with a fair and unbiased curriculum.

It primarily focuses on early child development, learning outcomes, different forms of

assessment, holistic education, recognising the centrality of teacher and teacher

education. All these measures will render meaningless unless achieving universal

foundational numeracy and literacy is prioritised.

Its recommendation on multiple Exit options is unclear whether exit options will

be made available within a single institution, or from different institutions that offer

different kinds of degrees.

Its recommendation to make all higher education institutions multidisciplinary

betrays the principle that different institutions have different identities, different

comparative advantages, different pedagogical philosophies and a different mission.

A healthy education system should incorporate diversity of institutions that caters to

the student’s choice for different kinds of institutions

It emphasises to shift the focus from exams to learning but it contradicts itself by

recommending a national aptitude test

Conclusion: The New Education Policy is a forward-looking framework for transforming

Indian education. Proper implementation of its recommendation with a priority on

empowering school children, appropriate government expenditure will ensure the success of

public education and India’s future.

Syllabus: GS2: Issues and Challenges Pertaining to the Federal Structure, Devolution

of Powers and Finances up to Local Levels and Challenges Therein.

2. Reforming Urban Governance

Source: The Hindu

Context: Much needed reforms in our urban governance model.

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/new-education-policy-nep-india-6533163/

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-covid-19-crisis-as-a-metropolitan-battle/article32243597.ece



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Inadequate planning owing to non-functional Metropolitan Planning Committees

(MPCs):

1. The formation of Metropolitan Planning Committees (MPCs) is mandated by the

constitution in all areas with a million-plus population.

2. They are responsible for the preparation of draft development plans, integrate

priorities of local authorities, State and Central governments and to ensure integrated

planning for the entire metropolitan area.

3. In practical, MPCs are either not constituted or defunct.

4. Janaagraha’s Annual Survey of India’s City-Systems (ASICS) 2017 report found that

only nine out of 18 cities assessed had constituted MPCs even if on paper.

5. Impact: The absence of comprehensive integrated planning has resulted in Poor

housing, sanitation, and a lack of access to meaningful social security for the urban

poor.

Inadequate municipal capacities in finance and staffing:

a. For Major metropolitan cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai expenditure is more

than the revenue generated due to less capacity in financing.

b. Also, Strength of human resources is abysmally low compared to global cities such as

Johannesburg and New York.

c. Impact: Leading to poor capacity of municipalities in delivering infrastructure and

services, and managing disasters which was very visible during the pandemic.

Disenfranchised Mayors

India’s metropolitan cities are headed by Mayors who are powerless and possess less

authority owing to the practice of Indirect election of mayors in almost all big

metropolitan cities with 10 million-plus population and short tenure of service.

Further, Mayors do not have full decision-making authority over critical functions of

planning, housing, water, environment etc. in most cases.

Also, public agencies for planning, water and public transport report directly to State

governments neglecting the role of Mayors.

Impact: Citizens are unable to hold one political authority accountable in the city, as

it is practically difficult to hold the Chief Minister or the State government

accountable.

Lack of Transparency, accountability and citizen participation:

1. Metropolitan cities do not have a functional ward committees and area sabhas that

encourages citizen participation.

2. The absence of citizen participation is compounded by the problem of poor

transparency in finance and operations.

3. As per ASICS 2017, India’s big metropolitan cities on average score 3.04/10 in

transparency, accountability and participation.

Neglect of Smaller towns

India’s urbanisation is characterised by the emergence of smaller towns, that is

emerging around existing large cities.

According to the Centre for Policy Research, the growth of small towns in India is

beyond the economics of large agglomerations.

Going forward, the 69 metropolitan cities, combined with their hinterlands, will

generate over half of India’s incremental GDP between 2012 and 2025 - McKinsey

report



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Yet, India Doesn’t have an active discourse on cohesive metropolitan governance

frameworks.

Inequitable public health system:

1. According to the World Bank, India’s out-of-pocket health expenditure is more than

three times compared to the world average (62.4% in 2017, world average 18.2%).

2. Public health system characterised by low manpower in the health sector for example,

India’s doctor-population ratio is 1:1,457 is lower than the World Health Organisation

norm of 1:1,000.

3. Impact: Governance has a bearing cost on our preparedness for natural and man-

made disasters and contingencies.

Way forward

The fundamental change should include empowered Mayors with five-year tenure.

Imbibing lessons on direct election for mayors from global examples: for example,

the Tokyo metropolitan government, and recent experimental models such as

combined authorities in the United Kingdom and Australia

To avoid the repeat of disasters we need a medium to long-term spatial planning

that focuses on equal access to opportunities and services.

Need to bolster the capability of municipalities to self-govern with a sense of

urgency.

Decentralise ward level governance, and inter-agency coordination that ensure

citizen participation platforms which can be helpful from identifying beneficiaries to

recruiting volunteers, and collaborating with civil society organisations during any

emergency.

To reap the benefit of scale, India’s urban vision should also focus on smaller towns

while focusing on its metropolitan cities.

Conclusion: To build a comprehensive and integrated urban planning we need to introspect

and reform the way India’s metropolises are governed. The Central and State governments

should lead efforts towards a metropolitan governance paradigm.

Syllabus: GS-2- Education

3. Significance of National Education Policy 2020


Context: The Ministry of Human Resource Development announced The National education

policy 2020 with a goal of transforming the system to meet the needs of 21st century India.

Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, opines that it has the potential to help India leverage its

demographic dividend.

Significance of NEP 2020

1. Access to Education: The NEP 2020 focuses on universalising access from early

childhood to higher education. It seeks to integrate nearly 2 crores out-of-school

children and emphasises of socio-economically disadvantaged groups.

2. Increased focus on Foundational Learning: It advocates to boost foundational

learning through early childhood care, a new curriculum and play- and activity-based

pedagogy. Along with national mission for foundational literacy and numeracy, NEP

2020 will be significant for strengthening foundational learning in India.

3. Departure from archaic practices and pedagogy: NEP 2020 does away with the

distinction between curricular, extra-curricular and co-curricular subjects in school.

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/national-education-policy-niti-aayog-6536524/



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It also provides provision of multiple entry and exit options in higher education,

options for learning vocational skills.

4. Assessment of Learning Outcomes: NEP provides for a comprehensive system for

regular, credible and comparable assessments of learning outcomes through the

establishment of the National Assessment Centre called PARAKH (National Centre for

Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic

development).

5. Revamped Teacher Education: NEP 2020 provides a comprehensive curricular

framework, multidisciplinary programmes and stringent action against substandard

institutions providing teacher’s education. It also calls for merit-based selection and

deployment, online systems for teacher transfers.

6. Making India a higher education destination: NEP 2020 calls for creation of an

academic credit bank, the impetus to research, graded autonomy, internationalisation

and the development of special economic zones. It also advocates multilingual

education and efforts to enhance the traditional knowledge of India. All these will help

India emerge as a destination of higher education.

7. Strengthening Governance: It calls for school complexes and clusters to bring about

efficient resourcing of delivery structures, common standards and norms to boost the

quality of institutes across all levels, and a single regulatory body for higher

education. This marks a shift from overregulated governance to a more coherent one.

Conclusion: The New Education Policy is a forward-looking framework for transforming

Indian education. Proper implementation of its recommendation with a priority on

empowering school children, appropriate government expenditure will ensure the success of

public education and India’s future.

2. Role of Parents in Early Childhood Care and Education

Source: The Hindu

Context: The National Education Policy 2020 lays out a detailed paradigm for educators to

provide high-quality ECCE through preschools and anganwadis and emphasises on the role

of parents in Early childhood care and education (ECCE).

How can low-income parents start getting more involved in ECCE?

Awareness: Currently, 30% of low-income parents don’t send their children to any

ECCE institutions. This is due economic constraints, lack of awareness and social

incentives. Therefore, it is important to raise awareness on the importance of ECCE

through role modelling, mass media and social media involving examples of celebrities

and influencers.

Providing Educational Tools: It is important to provide low-income parents with

educational tools to support their children. Educational content should be simplified

and contextualised — creation, curation, and dissemination of content should be in

local language.

Measurement of Progress: Parents should be provided, on a regular basis,

measurable indicator of progress and change. The child’s progress and growth can be

measured through rigorous assessments and through visual learning journeys.

3. NEP - right intention

Source: The Hindu

Context: The NEP policy 2020, which is the first policy on education after 34 years, was

announced recently. It has several innovative ideas and daring proposals but also a few

assumptions.

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/parents-the-first-and-natural-tutors/article32254539.ece

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/a-policy-with-many-a-right-intention/article32254650.ece



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Bold moves in the policy

A 5+3+3+4 system in school education has been introduced in the policy that

includes:

o Early childhood care and education

o Universal education that includes the secondary level

o Adoption of school complexes

o Breakfast in the school meal programme

o Introduction of vocational education at the upper primary level

A multidisciplinary system which offers choices to students from among a variety of

subjects from different disciplines irrespective of their “stream”.

o Integrated education in undergraduate, postgraduate and research levels.

o A four-year undergraduate programme

There will be just one regulatory body for the entire sector in the Higher Education

Commission of India.

It aims to increase public investment in education to 6% of the GDP and promises

to provide higher education free to about 50% of the students. It also aims to increase

the gross enrolment ratio in higher education to 50% by 2035.

The liberal arts, humanities, and Indian heritage and languages have been

emphasised and facilitation of selective entry of high-quality foreign universities is

there.

The three-language formula will promote national integration and use of mother

tongue while teaching till class 5 would also be beneficial.

What’s missing in the final policy?

“All commercially oriented private institutions will be closed”, this statement was

mentioned in the draft policy but was missing in the final policy even though there is

a serious problem with the private education sector in India.

Now the policy simply states, “The matter of commercialization of education has been

dealt with by the Policy through multiple relevant fronts, including: the ‘light but

tight’ regulatory approach that mandates full public self-disclosure of finances”.

The 2020 policy simply assures the commitment to allocation of 6% of GDP whereas

doubling public expenditure on education to 20% of the total government expenditure

was promised in the draft policy.

There is no mention of State School Education Regulatory Authorities in the 2020

policy. At the State level, the Department of School Education is regarded as the apex

body.

There is also no promise of ‘full’ recruitment of teachers at all levels.

Way Forward

The policymakers will have to differentiate the not for profit , public spirited private sector

and undesirable but powerful market forces in the education sector and regulate the entry

and growth of the latter.

4. NEP 2020 and Medium of Instruction


Context: The author opines that the National Education Policy 2020 does not adequately

address the issue of inequity arising out of medium of instruction.

NEP 2020 on medium of instruction

The NEP 2020 states that the mother-tongue or the regional language would be the

“preferred” mode of instruction till Class 5, possibly Class 8.

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/new-education-policy-2020-regional-language-bhasha-medium-schools-6537823/



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It also states that, “wherever possible” these languages will be used in public and

private schools.

Previous Standard of Education in Bhasha-Schools

Even 20-25 years after Independence, most school-going children attended bhasha-medium

schools and the medium of instruction did not hamper progress in life. This was primarily

because:

The standard of English taught in those schools was very good

Most students belonged to the upper castes and had a tradition of education in their

families.

Issues in Current Bhasha schools:

the quality of education in bhasha schools has deteriorated over the years. Further,

students have opted out from these and there is a growing demand for English medium

schools.

At present Bhasha schools mainly cater to students from Bahujan Samaj. These students

face two issues:

The quality of education is very poor

Such children rarely have a tradition of education in their families and find it very

difficult to compete with their peers from better financial background, better

education and proficiency in English. Bhasha medium students do not get the coveted

jobs and the disparity between the two widens.

Way Forward:

The author suggests that all students should be made to study English from an earlier age.

Making special funds available for English-teaching at panchayat or zila parishad level

schools should be the first step forward.

Syllabus: GS-2- Policy

5. Kashmir policy and federalism

Source: The Hindu

Context: The article 370 that defined Jammu and Kashmir’s relationship with the rest of

India was turned down and a new framework was introduced in 2019 as there was an idea

that existence of article 370 weakened the democracy.

Upend of article 370

Unavailability of democratic rights: continued detention of political prisoners who

have been elected and have represented the people, shows that if democratic rights

are not available to political leaders’ then ordinary people cannot imagine holding

these rights.

The change was introduced on august 5, on the birthdate of foremost scholar and

activist on Jammu and Kashmir, Balraj puri and his two core ideas were:

o Peace would not arise in Jammu and Kashmir without guaranteeing respect for the

democratic rights for its people.

o To ensure the democratic rights the most important tool would be a rigorous

pursuit of federalism within the state.

Key to integration

“Policy of denying Kashmir a right to democracy , imposing of one party rule on the

state through manipulation of elections, prevention of growing of opposition parties

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/a-change-that-hit-federalism-inclusion/article32263820.ece



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and refusal of basic civil liberties and human rights has been a greatest block in the

integration”, Balraj Puri wrote in his book Kashmir towards Insurgency.

There is a requirement to emotionally integrate Kashmir with the rest of India as the

feeling of hopelessness and a threat to identity creates a breeding ground for

militancy.

Asymmetry and federalism

1. Some people view last year’s constitutional change as an attack on Indian federalism.

Jammu and Kashmir’s separate flag and constitution within the Indian union

represented asymmetry which is an integral part in the Indian federal experience.

2. The multi-regional and ethnic Jammu and Kashmir’s pursuit for autonomy should be

seen with a broader lens as asymmetry has strengthened the Indian union and led to

better policy implementation and participation in political processes.

3. The decline of political power from centre to Jammu and Kashmir should not lead to

political hegemony of any one region or political party.

Way Forward

1. Serious introspection is required for all those who believe in an inclusive and

accommodative idea of India.

2. A multi-layered, institutionalised decentralisation and respect for democratic rights

for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

6. NEP issues

Source: The Indian Express

Context: New educational institutions will not flourish in an old culture and they need an

environment of trust and freedom. Changes in the educational culture are a requirement

along with the change new policy has brought in.

The vision for higher education and NEP 2020

1. The policy has envisioned a complete transformation of higher education

ecosystem by 2040.

2. All the colleges and universities, both public and private will be multidisciplinary with

more 3000 students in each institution. There should be at least one higher

education institute in or near every district.

3. Universities will do research as well as postgraduate and undergraduate teaching

where medium of teaching will mostly in Indian local languages or bilingually.

4. All HEIs will eventually become “independent self-governing institutions” with

considerable “faculty and institutional autonomy”, having complied with a series of

regulatory exercises that are “light but tight” operated by a large number of private

license holders overseen by a new set of regulatory institutions at the national level.

5. India’s higher education system will have doubled the Gross Enrolment Ratio to 50

per cent by 2035.

6. Refurbished Open and Distance Learning system and through the use of technologies

including online modes will help in making the enrolment ratio double.

Problems in education system in reality

1. Accomplishment of “complete overhaul and re-energising of the higher education

system” would be difficult as India is not starting with a clean slate but with existing

imperfect institutions.

2. No clear roadmap is laid out in the policy for the complete makeover of existing

educational culture where there is fragmented ecosystem of low standard teaching,

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/new-national-education-policy-nep-2020-6544824/



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lesser emphasis on research, suboptimal governance and leadership and ineffective

regulatory system.

3. NEP 2020 itself is an exercise of imposing uniformity and standardisation along a

single axis of control and power, which is ironic given India’s size, population,

diversity and constitutional federalism.

4. One old institution may divide into four new ones, but the genetic material out of

which these are created remains the same, and so does the institutional culture.

Way forward

1. It is important to recognise that institutions are organic entities with their own

histories and have specific social and cultural contexts. Each ancient university is

unique and should be allowed to flourish with trust and freedom as it would not be

fruitful to cast each one of them in the same mould.

2. Creation of a new ecosystem is not the only solution, but new educational culture and

environment also needs to be built.

Syllabus – GS 2 - Government policies and interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation

7. Right to Education violated in COVID

Source – Down to Earth

Context – The online class is violating the very spirit of the Right to Education of children

who lack resources.

Impact of online classes on rural government school

Case Study – Government schools of Odisha

1. Mobile Connectivity – According to Economic Survey (2018-19), more than 20 per cent

(11,000) villages in Odisha do not have mobile connectivity.

2. Internet availability - Internet subscribers per 100 people in rural areas stand only at

16; it is 83.3 in urban areas.

3. Poor learning outcomes - At least 59 per cent of the students in class V failed to meet

the required learning level in English; the figures were 53 per cent in Mathematics and 31

per cent in Odia language.

4. Child abuse - Children who stay at homes for a longer time risk being pulled into child

labour or child marriage. They also face violence.

Suggested solution

Remedial classes - The government should initiate remedial classes for kids, starting with

a small group comprising five-six students.

Way Forward - The COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated structural disparities between

rural and urban areas. It has had a critical impact on the education of children, especially

the disadvantaged ones. Thus for disadvantaged sections, classroom-based learning

remains the only hope.

Syllabus: GS-2- Judiciary

8. Online delivery of Justice

Source: The Hindu

Context: Justice delivery can shift online as it provides the opportunity to give more people

access to justice and ease the burden on the courts.

Supreme Court in current situation

1. Efficient justice delivery will require the intervention of technology and a two-pronged

approach towards dispute avoidance and dispute resolution.

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/governance/no-smartphones-internet-access-odisha-s-rural-kids-caught-in-digital-divide-72656

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2. The Supreme Court heard over 7,000 matters online, issuing more than 670

judgments through more than 620 Benches prior to its two-week recess whereas the

Supreme Court of the UK had taken up just 10 cases and pronounced 15 judgments,

and the Supreme Court of Canada heard 173 cases, both in a similar time frame to

our apex court’s.

3. The Supreme Court also brought in e-filing and released comprehensive

information modules on how best to on-board these developments.

Online dispute resolution

ODR has the potential to help solve small and medium disputes at scale before they

even come before the formal court processes as ODR traces its ancestry to leading

practices from alternative dispute resolution (ADR), matching them with the latest

technology.

ODR has been able to resolve hundreds of millions of matters at the conflict level, led

by eBay and PayPal. In the European Union, an ODR platform provided by the

European Commission helps make online shopping transactions fairer and safer.

Recently, an e-Lok Adalat was live streamed in Chhattisgarh, hearing 3,000 matters

over 200 Benches across districts in the State.

Innovative mechanism

● There needs to be a fundamental change in the mind set where justice is a service

that is availed of and not a place for dispute resolution (court) where justice is

administered.

● India is leading the way in innovative justice delivery through initiatives led by the e-

Courts project, whose impact will penetrate both vertically and laterally.

● ODR as a technology-led affordable solution is needed to help take matters outside

the court.

● The combination of technology and data with negotiation, mediation and adjudication

supported by all concerned stakeholders will enable this approach to avoiding,

containing and resolving disputes.

Way forward

Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) could be a vital component in the bid to make life simpler

for every person who seeks access to justice through technology, positive intent and active

implementation.

Syllabus: GS-2- Polity

9. Preventive detention

Source: The Hindu

Context: Unchecked preventive detention and difficulty in accessing information in the

valley are the violation of human rights ever since the abrogation of article 370.

Under house arrest

The state is empowered to declare a building or house as a sub-jail even though the

concept of house arrest is not mentioned in the criminal manual.

The resident of a sub-jail is automatically under detention which is also known as

house arrest.

The state virtually acquires the property for its own purposes and the owner of the

house is entitled to rent or compensation for the use and occupation of the property.

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For instance, vast tracts of land were taken over by the armed forces to suppress an

insurgency. Mizo landowners have petitioned for compensation, though with little

effect and people in the valley may face similar problem.

During the emergency, few tourist resorts near Delhi were declared as sub-jails where

prominent political leaders were confined.

Preventive detention

1. Preventive detention under the public safety act is harsh but our constitution

provides important procedural safeguards that must be followed by the state.

2. It’s the fundamental right of the person in detention to be communicated and

informed about the grounds of detention and given a chance of representation against

the order.

3. Decisions of the Supreme Court hold that if there is an unexplained delay of even one

or two days in dealing with representation, the order of preventive detention is

debased.

4. In the case of A.K Roy v. Union of India (1981) the Supreme Court stated that

“Laws of preventive detention cannot, by the back door, introduce procedural

measures of a punitive kind, the normal rule has to be that the person in detention

will be kept in a place which is within the localities of his or her ordinary place of

residence.”

Problems faced by people of the valley

1. Access to information is a human right, if not a fundamental right yet the residents

of the valley have been deprived of the benefit of 4G internet for past one year.

2. Right to health is an essential component of the right to life and this has been

denied to a large number of patients as medical professionals have difficulty in

advising and counselling their patients.

3. The economy in the valley has taken a hit as businesses have suffered.

4. It has been difficult for students as the joy of learning has become a hassle with 2G

internet.

Way forward

It is possible to block access even in a limited way with today’s advanced technology and so

the threat which comes with uncontrolled access to internet and misuse of internet by

terrorists and militants could be curbed.

10. One year of the abrogation of Article 370

Source: The Hindu

Context: It's been one year since the abrogation of some provisions of the Article 370

Background

On 5th August,2019, the government of India took the following steps:

Promulgated the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019. The

order abrogated some provisions in Article 370.

Introduced the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill 2019. As per the provisions

of the bill, the state of J&K has been bifurcated into two Union territories – Jammu

and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019 was also

introduced to extend the reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in

educational institutions and government jobs in Jammu and Kashmir.

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Article 370

The Article 370 of Indian Constitution gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The

article was drafted in Part XXI of the Indian Constitution: “Temporary, Transitional and

Special Provisions”. This special status gave the following special powers to J&K:

It allowed J&K to have its own Constitution and Flag.

Article 370 also explicitly mentioned that only the provisions of Article 1 and Article

370 applied to the state.

The Centre could extend the central laws on subjects included in the Instrument of

Accession (IoA) — Defence, External Affairs and Communications — by “consultation”

with the state government.

The remaining central laws could be extended to the state only with the “concurrence”

of the state government.

Article 35A

It was included in the Constitution by a Presidential Order in 1954.

Article 35A of the Indian Constitution gave power to the Jammu and Kashmir

Assembly to define ‘permanent residents’ of the state, their special rights and

privileges. The Jammu and Kashmir Constitution was adopted on November 17,

1956. It defined a ‘permanent resident’ as a person who was a state subject on May

14, 1954, or was a resident in the state for 10 years on that date, with a legally

acquired property.

As per the provisions of Article 35A, non-permanent residents couldn’t acquire

immovable property, get government employment, scholarships or other aid provided

by the state government.

It also provided that no act of the J&K legislature under Article 35A can be challenged

on the grounds of violating the Indian Constitution.

Improvements in Jammu and Kashmir after removal of Article 370

End of Discrimination: Article 370 was discriminatory on the basis of caste, class,

gender and place of origin. For instance, many who migrated from Pakistan post-

partition were not given Permanent Resident Status, voting rights etc. Similarly,

Article 35A was discriminatory to the Valmikis who were brought in from Punjab as

government sweepers in 1957. But the provisions of Article 35A prevented them from

getting a permanent resident status. The removal of Article 370 has ended

discrimination.

Right to Education: After removal of Article 370, Right to Education is applicable in

the region. This has paved the way for universal elementary education across the

region.

Reduced Militancy: Abrogating Article 370 has helped in integrating the region with

the rest of the country. This has helped bringing private investments, generate

revenue and create new jobs for the locals and reduced militancy in J&K.

Gender Rights: Article 35A led to denial of property rights to women who marry

outside the state. For ex- the child of a woman married to an outsider was denied

inheritance rights. The discriminatory provisions have been removed after removal of

Article 35 A.

Economic Transformation:

o National Saffron Mission has been introduced and more than 3,500 hectares of

land are being rejuvenated for saffron cultivation

o The government is also incentivising farmers to introduce ultra-high-density

plantation of apple and other fruits.



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o Tourism infrastructure is being upgraded in mission mode. In a bid to further

boost tourism and connectivity, 11 airports in J&K and two in Ladakh are being

considered under the UDAN scheme.

Health Infrastructure revamped: he health sector has been transformed with the

opening of two AIIMS Hospitals and five new medical colleges. The Ayushman Bharat

scheme is now available for all residents of J&K.



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General

Studies

Paper - 3



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General Studies - 3

Syllabus: GS-3- Environment- Environmental impact assessment

1. Ecological restoration

Source: DownToEarth

Context: Our natural ecosystems need restoration beyond conservation and significant

steps have been made in both the science and practice of restoration over the last three

decades.

Ecosystem degradation

It is one of the biggest environmental threats as almost all our ecosystems,

terrestrial or otherwise, stand degraded to varying degrees due to a mix of factors

such as developmental pressures, population growth, over-exploitation, etc.

Other factors such as invasive alien species and climate change also impact many

ecosystems.

Degradation has serious implications for human well-being and economic

sustainability. Degradation of natural ecosystems in the Western Ghats poses a

direct threat to water security, and in turn, to livelihoods of millions of people in the

plains.

We are in a situation where conservation is not enough as Mangroves along our

coastline are severely impaired and need intervention and many protected areas like

national parks stand ecologically unprotected due to invasion by species such

as Lantana camara.

Ecological restoration

Ecological restoration is defined as “the process of assisting the recovery of an

ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed”.

Objective of restoration: It is done through a scientific process of benchmarking

with reference models from the same native ecosystem in order to achieve an

ecosystem to recover to its pre-degradation trajectory.

Ecosystem integrity: It forms the foundation of ecological restoration and covers

both biotic and abiotic aspects.

All elements of an ecosystem such as soil, hydrology, flora, fauna, etc are given

importance in restoration. This makes restoration different from other

rehabilitation approaches such as afforestation and reforestation, which mainly

focus on planting of saplings of a few tree species.

Growth of the restoration discipline

● Restoration methodologies have been developed worldwide for different degradation

scenarios including for extreme ones like landslides, mining, forest fires, etc.

● The publication of the standards for the practice of ecological restoration by the

Society for Ecological Restoration, the leading global body for the discipline has

been important for the discipline.

o It includes leading-edge monitoring methods to measure the ecological as well as

social outcomes of restoration initiatives.

o These standards provide the core principles and framework for restoration.

● Ecological restoration has been placed at the forefront of the world’s biodiversity and

climate change agendas by The Bonn Challenge declaration and the United Nations

declaration of 2021-30 as the ‘Decade of Ecosystem Restoration’.

● Climate change programmes should embrace restoration principles so that

biodiversity goals are achieved simultaneously.

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/wildlife-and-biodiversity/beyond-conservation-why-our-natural-ecosystems-need-restoration-72564



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The Indian context and way forward

● The need for restoration is considerable and urgent in India where most initiatives are

small and site-specific. It is still a developing discipline in the country.

o For example, most forests lying outside protected areas have been degraded due to

high human pressure. Our protected areas, in turn, are affected by factors like

invasive alien species.

● India has a target of restoring 26 million hectares of degraded lands by 2030.

⮚ A large number of well-trained restoration practitioners would be required to

achieve this goal and there is a need for separate mechanisms to train field-level

personnel who will be handling implementation and monitoring of programmes.

⮚ Projects should adhere to the core principles of restoration. The international

standards can help in this regard, with suitable adaptation for Indian conditions.

⮚ Sustained funding and focus is required as the restoration project lasts well over

five-six years.

2. Dilution in EIA

Source: The Hindu

Context: Climate action group Fridays for Future India was recently charged under the

UAPA and the IT Act for protesting against the new draft Environment Impact Assessment

notification.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

EIA is a process which studies all aspects of the environment and seeks to anticipate

the impact (positive and/or negative) of a proposed project or development on the

environment.

EIA is mandatory under the Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986 for 29 categories of

developmental activities involving investments of Rs. 50 crores and above.

India for the first time in 1994 notified its first set of assessment norms, under the

Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. It mandated that projects beyond a certain size

from certain sectors (e.g. mining, thermal power plants, ports, airports and atomic

energy) get an environmental clearance as a precondition to their commencement.

EIA 2006

It increased the number of projects that required an environmental clearance. It also

created appraisal committees at the level of both the Centre and States.

The EIA Cycle comprises of four stages:

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/diluting-the-eia-process-spells-a-path-of-no-return/article32243585.ece



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EIA 2006 categorized development projects in two categories:

Category A: These projects require mandatory environmental clearance and do not go

through screening process. They are appraised at the national level by Impact

Assessment Agency (IAA) and the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC).

Category B: They are apprised at the state level. State Level Environmental Impact

Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) are

constituted to provide clearance to these projects. Category B projects are further

categorised into two:

A) Category B1 projects: They require mandatory EIA

B) Category B2 projects: They do not require EIA

Issues with EIA 2006

The final EIA report is often not made available to the public

The procedure for securing clearances for certain kinds of projects has been

accelerated

There is often little scope available for independent judicial review.

Draft EIA Notification 2020

Changes proposed Concern

It allows for post facto approval for projects.

It has provisions to award clearances for

projects even if they have started

construction or have been running without

securing environmental clearances.

It is in violation of the “precautionary

principle”-a principle of environmental

sustainability.

Further, any environmental damage caused

by the project is likely to be waived off by

only as the violations get legitimised.

It has omitted prior screening requirements

for Category B projects and expanded the

list of projects categorised under B2

It has eased process for many industries

which might have socio-environmental

consequences. Compromising appraisal in

such cases will result in further

environmental damage.

It proposes to classify inland waterways as

Category B2 projects and will not require

public consultations irrespective of whether

these projects are located in notified

ecologically sensitive areas.

It might have significant impact on the

marine ecosystem and long-term survival of

India’s rivers

It proposes to expand the list of projects

that do not require public consultation

before receiving Prior-EC.

It confers absolute power to the central

government to categorise projects as

“strategic” and information related to these

projects will not be put in public domain.

The provision has completely diluted public

consultation process and there is a risk of

states taking up development initiatives at

the risk of environmental degradation

New construction projects up to 1,50,000

square metres (instead of the existing

20,000 square metres) will not require

detailed scrutiny by the Expert Committee,

EIA studies and public consultation.

The building and construction sector is

among the largest greenhouse gas emitters

however, the proposed notification gives

leeway to the sector

It proposes an eased monitoring

mechanism Under the draft, project owners

are to submit environmental compliance

It dilutes the backbone of environment

clearance rules i.e. monitoring the

conditions on which projects are cleared



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reports (after getting clearance) every year

in contrast to present 6 months.

and ensuring compliance.

Way Forward: Mere strengthening of the existing EIA norms will not by itself be sufficient

to address environmental issues. Government to address the increasing socio-economic and

environmental challenges in a comprehensive manner by striking a balance between

ecological and developmental projects.

3. Indoor air pollution and LPG usage

Source: Hindu BusinessLine

Syllabus: GS-3- Environment

Context: Indoor air pollution and LPG usage

Status of Air Pollution in India

In 2018, India had 22 of the world’s 30 most air-polluted cities.

Indoor Air Pollution: Household sources of ambient air pollution, such as cooking and

heating, are the single largest contributors in much of the developing world, including

India.

Air pollution levels within households that cook with solid fuels, such as wood and

cow-dung, is estimated to 40 times higher the safe limit prescribed by the WHO.

About Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana is a scheme of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural

Gas.

Aim: To replace unclean cooking fuels used in the most underprivileged households

with clean and more efficient LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas).

Objective of the scheme: (a)Empower women and protect their health (b)Reduce the

serious health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuel (c)Reduce the

number of deaths in India due to unclean cooking fuel and (d)To prevent young

children from significant number of acute respiratory illnesses caused due to indoor

air pollution.

Beneficiaries: Under the scheme, an adult woman member of a below poverty line

family identified through the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) is given a deposit-

free LPG connection with financial assistance of Rs 1,600 per connection by the

Centre.

Issues and Challenges with reducing air pollution through LPG Usage

Affordability and Inactive gas cylinders: Many people with new connection Under

PMUY are not refilling their cylinders after the first use. This is primarily because not

only installing charges but refilling charges of LPG cylinders is considered to be very

high. The scheme does not have provision of bearing the cost of the subsequent refills.

Subsidy Design: Though LPG is subsidised in India, the subsidy design is complex.

This hinders uneducated and liquidity constrained consumers to either comprehend

or take advantage of the subsidy

Low awareness: A major issue is low awareness with regard to advantages of LPG as

a cooking fuel. Further, the lack of familiarity in operating LPG gas stoves is another

issue hindering LPG adoption.

Way Forward: The LPG subsidy scheme should be redesigned to increase take-up. Rural

people should be educated about the subsidy scheme and ill-effects of soil fuels.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/columns/what-india-must-do-to-clean-up-its-air/article32287550.ece



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4. Role of Indigineous people in REDD+ initiatives

Source: Down-to-earth

Context: REDD+ initiatives needs to accommodate the interests of indigineous people to

attain its true potential

Objective: REDD+ aims to create financial value for stored carbon in forests by

incentivising developing countries.

Significance: It provides for a quick and low-cost mechanism to achieve the Paris

Agreement goal of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrialised

era.

Principles of REDD+

1. Reducing emissions from deforestation

2. Reducing emissions from forest degradation

3. Conservation of carbon stocks

4. Sustainable management of forests

5. Enhancement of carbon stocks

REDD+ impacts on forest dependent communities

Violation of Rights leading to increased socio-economic and environmental

vulnerabilities of the affected communities.

Following Top-down approach disrupts their traditional livelihoods, traditional forest

management and use practices, leading to increased conflicts.

Lack of adequate safeguards and shortfalls in implementation prevent the benefits

from reaching indigenous peoples.

Limited information sharing & uneven awareness: women and poor villagers are

being less informed about project activities.

Women Empowerment: REDD+ initiatives has increased women’s participation in

village decision-making processes.

Measures to protect:

The Cancun Agreement: At COP 16, the Cancun Agreement was adopted which has laid

out Seven safeguards to mitigate negative impacts of REDD+ activities. Important among

them are

Need to be respect the knowledge and rights of indigenous peoples and members of

local communities.

It stressed on the full and effective participation of relevant stakeholders.

The Warsaw Framework: It mandated that, for a recipient country to avail finances REDD+

implementation it should develop a mechanism to showcase how the safeguards are

addressed and respected.

Independent contracts from multilateral institutions will also require additional

safeguard to be followed by developing countries. For example, The Green Climate Fund

(GCF) has allocated $500 million for its pilot programme for REDD+. To avail this fund,

recipient country should follow the safeguards in “Indigenous Peoples Policy” adopted by

GCF.

Way forward: Change in approach required to reap the non-carbon benefits of forests

sustainably.

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/forests/shifting-forest-finance-toward-a-rights-based-redd--72654



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Rights-based approach: with a strong emphasis on free, prior and informed consent Also,

there needs to be an inbuilt mechanism for quick access to justice and grievance redressal

mechanism.

Bottom-up approach: A decentralised approach should be followed to enhance the rights,

responsibilities and decision-making power of the local communities. It can be done by

restructuring the forest management system.

Capacity building for meaningful participation: The REDD+ implementation process

should actively engage indigenous peoples in the decision-making process and focus on

capacity building efforts at the grassroots level. TO achieve this REDD+ initiatives should

strive to gain trust among forest-dwelling communities.

Generate reliable data related to carbon stocks at a lower cost: If the measures such as

capacity building and rights-based approach are properly implemented, forest communities

will be willing to engage in participatory forest resource mapping which can be used to

generate reliable data

Conclusion: India’s Nationally Determined Contribution vowed an additional carbon sink of

three billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030. A

well-defined REDD+ programme in India can help India to attain its goal for creating

additional carbon sinks.

5. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT – Proposed amendments

Source – The Hindu Businessline

Syllabus - GS 3 - Conservation, environnmental pollution and degradation, environmental

impact assessment

Context- In the context of the industrialization-led economic development model, the main

ethical dilemma is what constitutes an appropriate trade-off between industrial

development and environmental protection.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT - Environmental Impact Assessment or EIA is

the process or study which predicts the effect of a proposed industrial/infrastructural

project on the environment. It prevents the proposed activity/project from being approved

without proper oversight or taking adverse consequences into account.

Challenges in implementing EIA

1. Prior clearance – The projects that fail to obtain prior clearance has been a difficult

issue for the regulator, since the project proponents cite sunk investments if the penalty for

violation involves shutting down the project.

2. Post-hoc legalization - Post-hoc legalization of such violations lead to perverse

incentives for the industry, rendering the entire regulation redundant.

Process to apprehend violators

In the draft notification, the Ministry has laid out a process that such violators should

follow in order to continue their operations legally:

1. Stage 1 – ThAppraisal Committee will assess that whether the project can be run

sustainably under compliance of environmental norms with adequate environmental

safeguards. If the answer is no, it can recommend closure of the project.

2. Stage 2 - If yes, then it will require the project proponent to assess the ecological

damage and prepare a remediation plan as well as a “natural and community

resource augmentation plan”, along with an EIA report and also required to submit a

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/eia-draft-needs-a-comprehensive-relook/article32297063.ece



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bank guarantee, equivalent to the cost of the remediation plan, prior to receiving an

environmental clearance.

Issues with the proposed Legalization process-

1. Conflict of interest - The damage assessment is carried out by an accredited third party

hired by the project proponent which leads to conflict of interest.

2. Penalties - The penalties, ranging from Rs. 1,000 to Rs.10,000 per day for the period of

violation, are not high enough to act as a deterrent.

3. Clause 22 - According to Clause 22, only the violators themselves or a regulatory or

governmental authority can bring the violation to notice.

Way forward - Centre must adopt a more deliberative approach that takes into account

various stakeholder views. It is imperative that the government incorporates a wide range of

perspectives, before the new notification is finalized.

Syllabus: GS-3- Economy

6. Reviving Economy

Source: The Hindu

Context: India’s economy is going to contract significantly as an impact of COVID-19 and

ways to revive the economy in order to build India’s confidence is to be thought of.

An event with deep impact

Economic contraction is a reversal of many years of progress and not just falling of

the GDP number. Following are the occurrences that may take place due to the

contraction:

o A significant number among the weaker sections of our society may slip back into

poverty which is rare for a developing nation.

o An entire generation may be lost due to severe unemployment.

o Many enterprises may shut down.

o A contracting economy can adversely impact our ability to feed and educate our

children owing to a shortage of financial resources.

The slowdown in economic activity is both a function of external factors such as the

lockdown and behavioural changes of people and enterprises, driven by fear.

NREGA and cash support

Thrice the usual number of people and 10 times more than the total number

employed by the entire listed corporate sector has demanded work under the

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) programme

at minimum wages. (approximately 62 million)

Even though the MGNREGA programme has proved to be a bed rock of support in

such times but it is not enough.

India is the only large democracy that has not provided direct cash assistance of a

significant amount during the COVID-19 crisis and so money in the hands of people

should be provided.

⮚ For instance, In the United States, as per reports, nearly three-quarters of

unemployed workers received higher pay and benefits under their government’s

COVID-19 assistance than from their employers. But this has not prevented American

industry from reopening.

Current financial system

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● Interest rate reductions, credit guarantee and liquidity enhancement schemes are

some steps taken by the RBI and the government to restore confidence in the financial

system. However, they have largely failed since banks are not confident of lending.

● Allowing institutions such as the RBI, public sector banks, bankruptcy boards,

securities and insurance regulators to function freely and professionally is the

foundational step to restoring confidence in the financial system.

● When firms feel confident of availability of capital and consumers, they do not need

much else to kick-start production and investment, so the processes such as the

insolvency process must be allowed to function smoothly without intervention.

Government’s role in the current financial situation

● India must make full use of loan programmes of international institutions such as the

International Monetary Fund and the World Bank as the country is an ideal

borrower for these institutions with no default, timely repayments and full

transparency.

● India should pay attention to the old ways of deficit monetisation by the RBI, also

known as printing money.

Way Forward

● Restoring confidence in people through direct cash assistance and other welfare

programmes can help them live their lives and spend.

● Restoring confidence among bankers through autonomy of institutions and processes

will help them lend.

● Restoring confidence among businesses with greater access to capital will help them

invest and create jobs.

● Restoring confidence among international organisations by re-establishing the

credibility of our institutions will help get funding assistance and objective sovereign

ratings.

Syllabus: GS3: Issues related to Direct and Indirect Farm Subsidies

7. PM-KISAN


Context: The recent telephonic survey conducted by NCAER National Data Innovation

Centre around Delhi-NCR reveals useful insights role of PM-KISAN in alleviating economic

distress among farmers.

PM-KISAN:

It is the first universal basic income scheme aimed at alleviating the agricultural

stress of farmers.

Under this scheme central government will pay Rs.6000 per year in 3 instalments of

2000.

Initially it was targeted at small and medium landed farmers later it was expanded to

all farmers from May 2019.

Budgetary allocation for the year 2020-21 is Rs 75,000 crore.

Findings from the survey

According to the survey, the farmers recorded a lower level of economic distress

among farmers than among other groups such as business, casual labours etc.



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Faced with only logistical challenges in transporting and selling their produce, most

farmers continued to harvest rabi crops and prepared for the kharif season. This

shows farmers were relatively immune to the economic impact of the lockdown

compared to other groups.

It was also observed that, the beneficiaries under PM-KISAN experienced relatively

lower signs of economic distress. However, these beneficiaries were better off than the

general rural population. Hence, PM-KISAN scheme cannot be the sole reason for

their immunity towards income shock

The most worrisome revealing was that only 21 per cent of the farmers were receiving

the benefits inspite of the scheme being extended to all farmers.

Conclusion: The scheme serves the better off than the poor rural population. The problem

is compounded by exclusion and inadequate reach to the needy. Hence the relevance of the

scheme needs to be re- evaluated.

Syllabus: GS3: Inclusive Growth and issues arising from it.

8. Development of Eastern States


Context: Prioritising education to reduce Population growth can ensure development of the

Eastern states.

The Chinese growth story

Reforms in Agriculture:

China’s Economic reforms started in 1978 by bringing transformational changes in

Agriculture sector.

It established a household responsibility system in land holdings by dismantling its

earlier commune system.

Agricultural reforms were also focused on deregulation of agricultural price control.

Impact: It ensured a high growth rate in agriculture (4.5 per cent per annum between

1978 and 2018). The real income of farmers doubled, which in turn created a huge

demand for industrial products, which helped to build a demand base for a long-

term manufacturing revolution.

Reforms in population policy

Along with Economic reforms china also introduced its one child policy to arrest its

population growth. It was introduced in 1979 and continued till 2015.

Impact: China’s average family size of 4.84 in 1971, dropped to 3.03 in

2017.Dramatic increase in per capita income. China’s per capita income was even

lower than that of India during 1978, but today it is almost five times higher. This

transformation that has made China the world’s second superpower

Comparison with India’s Economic reforms

India’s economic reforms started in 1991 by bringing changes in its trade and

industrial policies. This had only limited success in the states of Eastern India.

Much of the reason can be cited due to large family sizes in these states (average

Indian household in Bihar, Jharkhand, Up is more than 5 as per the 2011 Census)

and very small agricultural holdings.

Impact: These states lag behind the all India average on developmental indicators.

The eastern states Bihar, UP and Jharkhand has the lowest per capita incomes

amongst the country’s major states. Their growth rate remained below the all India



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annual average. This scenario very well explains the largest migration of rural labour

to Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi from these states.

Way forward:

Push for increasing Literacy levels: Unlike china India is a vibrant democracy

which cannot enforce a one-child policy to overcome its population problem.

Therefore, the only way out for India is a massive education drive, especially directed

towards the girl child supported with liberal scholarships.

Long-term plan for massive infusion of development funds for the laggard

Eastern states to improve basic infrastructure of health, education (including

population control), housing, roads, power and water etc. This will also create jobs

and ensure development.

Increasing the overall expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP as

reiterated by The New Education Policy.

Massive Funding: Along with public spending, the private sector can also be roped

in to channel their CSR funds in well-designed schemes.

Conclusion: Mobilising resources for Financing such a mega investment plan is a difficult

task. Rationalisation and pruning of the massive subsidies given to food, fertilisers, power

sector, and disinvestment in loss making public enterprises can help in financing a

development plan for eastern India.

Gs3: Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources,

Growth, Development and Employment.

9. Securing labours during covid crisis

Source: livemint

Context: While much of the nations have tried supporting their workers during Covid crisis

India’s response towards securing its workers livelihood has been inadequate.

Impact of Covid Crisis on workers

While the workers employed in the technology, finance and consulting sectors were

able mitigate the effect of Covid Crisis as a result of work-from-home (WFH) policies,

most of the impact was on vulnerable workers.

Almost 70% of women, those employed in the health and social care sectors and work

as informal and temporary workers were deeply affected.

Migrants and international immigrants were also affected disproportionately due to

unsustainable jobs and high burden of health care.

Equivalently, (MSME) workers who were employed in their own micro businesses in

particular have suffered the most.

ILO’s Response to Secure workers

About ILO: It came into force in 1919.It aims to set labour standards, develop

policies, and devise programmes to promote decent work for all women and men by

bringing together the governments, employers and workers of its 187 member states.

Response during covid crisis: To save businesses and jobs, to prevent layoffs, to

protect incomes and livelihoods of labours and to leave no one behind the ILO

supports its member countries to plan their relief packages.

ILO’s four pillared recovery strategy:

o Stimulating the economy and jobs

o Supporting enterprises, employment and incomes

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o Protecting workers in the workplace

o Dialoguing among the GWE to promote solutions.

Global Response to secure workers during covid crisis

In the developed economies workers were provided assistance through measures such

as unemployment insurance and a worker wage subsidy.

European countries such as Germany, France, United Kingdom have subsidized

companies to keep workers on their payrolls.

Whereas in the U.S, the unemployment insurance payment was raised by $600 a

week.

The most effective measure from the worker’s point of view was the job-sharing

programmes among workers that were initiated in some European nations like

Germany, in which workers were paid nearly full wages for partial work eliminating

the need to lay off people simultaneously it also reduced the requirement for

retrenchment.

India’s Weak Response towards the plight of labours

While the India’s measures to rescue its economy, through fiscal and monetary

stimulus and an MSME support programme were appreciable, its Direct measures

related to the formal and informal labour market have been inadequate.

With respect to migrants, the central government response has been largely restricted

to repatriation transportation.

The states have made their situation worse by issuing ordinances to relax labour

regulations that are against ILO norms and even violative of draft labour codes. For

example,

o Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat and Karnataka have increased the maximum

factory work hours per day to 12, and from 60 to 72 hours per week whereas the

ILO specifies a maximum of 9 hours per day and 48 hours per week.

o Further the UP and Gujarat government have specified that the extra hours are

not eligible for overtime payment.

Added to this, it’s impossible to have a specific welfare scheme exclusively for labours

as only 10% of its labour force makes up the formal labour market and another 12-

15% working as contract labour which means that only about 22-25% can be

identified and provided specific support.

Conclusion: A concerted effort should be made to give workers a financial identity by

collating and simplifying labour laws into a few codes and reducing labour compliances at

the Centre and states. Only then marginalized workers will have the legal recourse to avail

their welfare benefits.

10. Agricultural economy cannot drive growth across the overall economy

Source: livemint

Context: Theories that highlights the indicators of increase in tractor sales, increased govt

procurement of food grains, expected growth in agriculture sector to argue that agricultural

economy would revive the Indian rural economy which in turn drive growth across the

overall economy is untrue.

Reasons:

First, Rural economy is not only about agriculture.

https://www.livemint.com/news/india/why-bharat-won-t-lift-a-troubled-economy-11596465301774.html



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Second, increased govt procurement of food grains does not benefit the farmers

universally.

Third, increase in tractor sales only indicate that rich farmers are doing well.

Other factors convey that Rural economy will be impacted negatively

Rural economy is not only about agriculture:

According to NABARD’s All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey 2016-17, only

23% of the income of an average rural household came from agriculture. Surprisingly,

out of the 23% total income of an agricultural household, 34% of the income came

from wage labour.

Excluding agriculture, the non-agricultural rural economy consists of construction,

manufacturing, financial services, communication and the government.

As a recent phenomenon, manufacturing activities has been shifted to rural areas

owing to non-availability of land in urban areas which has helped in job creation and

facilitated the slow movement of people from agriculture to manufacturing.

Out of the 63 million MSMEs that contributes to 30% of India’s gross domestic

product (GDP), 50% are in rural areas.

Issues in Government procurement policy (MSP):

Restrictive: Because a farmer in order to sell his produce to the government, he

needs to produce above a minimum threshold also he should have the financial

capacity to bear upfront expenses involved in selling to the government.

Lacks wide coverage: Procurement operations of the government are unequally

concentrated in certain parts of the country and it tends to benefit the farmers in

those parts only. For example, in case of wheat, Punjab has more than 80% coverage

compared to U.P which has only 7% coverage under procurement operations

Monopoly in crops: It encourages farmers to grow rice and wheat at the expense of

other crops such as pulses, oilseeds etc.

Not farmer centric: The agricultural economy is more than just rice and wheat. It

does not support farmers producing vegetable, fruits, dairy, Horticulture and poultry.

Tractor sale cannot reflect the state of the overall agricultural economy: First,

tractors form an insignificant part of the overall agricultural economy. Second, Tractors are

too expensive for a normal farmer to buy hence increase in tractor sales only indicate that

rich farmers are doing well whereas Indian agriculture is characterised by 85%of small and

marginal farmers.

Other Factors affecting Rural growth:

Weakening MSMEs

o According to Reserve Bank of India’s latest systemic risk survey, the MSME sector is

affected by lack of cash flows, Low demand, lack of manpower, stuck working capital

and a lack of capital which has further created the stress on employment.

o According to the third national multi-institutional survey on MSMEs estimates close

to a third of the jobs in the sector would have disappeared by the end of Aug 2020.

o This is evident from the massive demand for work under the Mahatma Gandhi

National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

o This explains the fact that, the non-agricultural part of the rural economy, which is

close to 70% is inadequate to generate work equal to the demand created and forcing

people towards MGNREGS.



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Inadequacy in MGNREGA to sustain employability

o Not every household that demands work is entitled to work. Out Of the 125

million households which have demanded work this year, only 104 million

households (or around 84%) have managed to get work.

o Regional Variation in coverage: States like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have

better coverage under the scheme in comparison to states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,

Jharkhand, etc. Despite the fact that the bulk of internal migrants in India’s cities

come from the poor states.

Fall in remittances: due to reverse migration of workers from urban centres, internal

remittances are expected to come down which will have a negative impact on the rural

economy.

Contracting State finances: State governments expenditure has been greater than

centre for the last 5 years. With declining tax collection and need to allocate more

money to health care sector to fight covid will also impact rural growth negatively.

Stagnant economy due to spread of Covid 19: Rural areas have weak medical

infrastructure facilities, with covid 19 spreading to rural areas will prompt the

government to enforce lockdown which will stall the rural momentum

Conclusion: All these reasons demonstrates that while the agricultural economy cannot

drive growth across the overall economy.

11. Need a bottom up approach to tackle the new economic challenges of 21st century

Source: LiveMint

Context: The new economic challenges of 21st century cannot be tackled with old trade and

free-market ideas (Export led growth, Market reforms, sustaining high growth rate etc.)

Culmination of export-led growth

By transforming itself into an export-based economy, China became the factory of the

world that helped them to lift itself out of poverty. But now, the world will not be

ready to allow another china to rise. So, export led growth will not be a reality in

coming days.

India needs to concentrate on specific sectors where Indian manufacturers can

compete with the world rather than focusing on to replace China as global supply

chains look to diversify their sources.

Market reforms won’t work

Market reforms produced the intended benefits during 1991 by boosting growth and

generating new jobs but the same won’t be able to deliver results in this complex

changing world.

With growth in technology, it has replaced all other factors of production as the main

driver of growth.

Now, for businesses, labour laws aren’t the source of worry. They look up to other

factors such as court delays, excess regulation at multiple levels (central, state and

local bodies) and expensive logistics to decide their investment. Hence market reforms

cannot generate jobs as well as growth.

Economies cannot sustain high growth due to decreasing demand and decline in

credit growth

With more focus on climate change and threat of global warming forcing the world to

“reduce, recycle and reuse” demand for consumption will reduce.

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Also, with most of the developed nations are ageing and a greater number of

developing nations reaching replacement fertility rate growth is expected to slow

down.

Changing demand structures that advances pay-by-use ideas (rental homes, shared

mobility) inspite of ownership of goods have impacted credit growth as companies are

reluctant to borrow to finance expansion.

Similarly, companies are more pronounced towards equity rather than debt. This

means that banks need to shrink their traditional volume businesses and focus on

small firms which affects credit growth.

Conclusion: The government needs to devolve more powers to empower people to try and

experiment what works for them so that they can develop the needed resilience to respond

to new opportunities and threats posed in a more complex world.

12. Labour industrial relationship

Source: The Hindu Business line

Context: India is living in denial and needs to fix the imperfections of the industry-labour

relationship.

Business industry and plausible deniability

Plausible deniability involves deliberately not acknowledging information by those in

power who are exposed to public scrutiny of their actions, so that they can deny any

involvement with certain actions or developments with a reasonable degree of

believability.

Head of the CIA and America’s chief spymaster, Allen Dulles brought up the concept

of plausible deniability during the height of the Cold War in the 1960s.

Plausible deniability has been lost on its exact nature of the relationship between

business and industry in India that is large-scale, organised, small, medium,

unorganised, micro and labour due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sudden migration

There has been an exploitation and abuse of workers’ rights as many labourers were

forced to head back to their native towns post the announcement of a sudden

lockdown.

Different treatment for permanent and contractual staff: India’s biggest names in

business which can claim that they are complying with not just the letter but spirit of

labour laws when it comes to their full-time or permanent staff, claim with plausible

deniability that their contractual or part-time staff are also treated exactly the same

way.

Middle-men

Large employers get the labour they need at prices they like, without having to

suffer the time consuming burden of agreement which falls on any unit which

actually tangles with India’s devious labour laws.

The so-called labour contractors, who have contacts and muscle power to back it,

provide large numbers of skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled workers at short notice to

the organised-sector players.

The big companies themselves do not deal with them directly but through

agencies and service contractors.

These large contractors provide not only employment but often shared housing and

even food or mess facilities, and in return take up a healthy slice of the workers’

earnings.

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Soon after Lockdown 1.0 started these middle men vanished or kicked out these

labourers resulting millions of workers on the streets heading home.

Pressure on operations

“Low capacity utilisations, higher production cost and hence margin contraction are

likely to impact the companies facing labour shortage due to reverse migration and

the manufacturing sector will be at the forefront of the disruption particularly micro,

small & medium enterprises in Maharashtra and Delhi”, according to a report by

India Ratings & Research.

Delhi has a ‘Migrant Dependency Ratio’ of 93.52 and the percentage of migrant

labour as part of the total workforce.

Haryana is also classified as “highly vulnerable” with an MDR of 51.74.

Maharashtra and Gujarat are classified as “moderately vulnerable” with their

MDRs at 29.19 and 17.12 respectively.

Causes of the reverse migration

Preferring the shortcut of dealing with intermediaries and middle men.

Treating all legal requirements which increase the cost of labour as a hinderance

to business.

Treating labour as disposable inputs instead of partners in their business.

Impact of the labour shortage

Lack of skilled labour will lead to “significant pressure on the output, leading

to underutilised capacity”, according to India ratings and research.

Manufacturing cost is likely to increase, led by either loss of economies of scale or

higher wages of workers, as demand exceeds supply.

Way forward

Deals with middle men should be stopped just to save a few bucks.

The industry needs to introspect on exploiting the workers’ rights for many years now

and a healthy working environment needs to be created.

Contractual or temporary staff should not be treated differently than the permanent

staff.

13. Resorting to Money Financing to revive the economy

Source: The Hindu

Context: To finance public spending, given the current situation, money financing will be a

better option than debt financing.

Need for Financing: Greater public spending is needed as a policy response to revive the

currently depressed economy which can stimulate the growth. But increased public

spending will increase fiscal deficit. Hence there is a need for financing.

Ways for Mobilisation of resources: Government can resort to higher taxation or money

financing or financing through External debt to cover up the additional expenditures.

Analysis

High taxation is not feasible: The idea to mobilise resource through increasing tax rates

when the economy is in recession is not a prudent solution, so the government is left with

other two options.

Issues in External Debt financing: Borrowing from the World Bank and the International

Monetary Fund (IMF) has its own problems

Repayment through hard currencies: For this the government needs to increase

exports which is a difficult task under current circumstances

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/how-to-pay-for-the-stimulus/article32281226.ece

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Conditionalities: Loans from IMF and WB is usually accompanied by set of

conditions that needs to be adhered this increases governments liability to foreign

institutions.

Time consuming: As it takes time to negotiate. Whereas the Government needs to

spend its time and energy to fight covid-19

Issues in Money financing:

Cost associated with money financing: According to experts, money financing to

expand public spending is associated with high intangible and institutional costs, also

it is widely accepted that money financing is inflationary.

Supporting claims for Money financing: Whether a fiscal expansion is inflationary or not

is related more to the state of the economy than the medium of its financing. Currently, the

economy is faced with increasing unemployment, so any fiscal expansion in the current

situation will not have inflationary effect on economy.

Conclusion: With no reasoned case for denying the option of money financing, Government

should rely on money financing to take us back to pre-COVID-19 levels of output and

employment.

Syllabus: GS3: Government Budgeting.

14. Effect of declining tax collection on Economy

Source: BusinessLine

Context: With tax collections below target, the Centre will possibly resort to higher market

borrowings, thereby raising bond yields

Reasons for Short fall in tax collection

Downsizing human resources: Industries are facing fall in their business activity due

to pandemic induced lockdown. Hence to protect their businesses, corporates are

taking measures such as job cuts, decreasing the salaries of their staff, reduction

in variable pay etc. Which negatively impacts tax collection.

Fall in business profits: Industries are also facing reduced sales activity and

contraction in their profits this will result in reduced tax payments affecting tax

collection.

Declining GST collection: because GST is a consumption tax, so for GST collection

to increase there needs to be an increase in consumption whereas lockdown has

restricted consumer spending there by lowering the revenue for the government.

Decrease in custom tax: Due to fall in economic activities and reduced demand,

imports are declining thereby reducing custom tax collection

Impact of falling tax collection on economy

Impact on State: Due to shortfalls in the centre’s revenue, resource transfer to states

will be decreased which will push states to cut back on expenditure.

Impact on Centre: Faced with unexpected increase in relief expenditure, central

government will be forced to cut expenditures either by resorting to cut Capital

expenditure or by bringing sharp cuts in subsidies.

Resorting to borrowing: To balance higher fiscal deficit centre will be necessitated to

borrow form the market which will result in increased bond yields.

Syllabus: GS-3- Security

15. Self-reliance in the defence sector

Source: Live Mint

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/managing-the-fisc-wont-be-easy-at-all/article32270177.ece

https://www.livemint.com/opinion/columns/self-reliance-in-defence-is-a-national-imperative-11596552641886.html



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Context: India’s new policy for the domestic production of weaponry will make the country

self-reliant in defence sector

Introduction

The draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020 aims for

domestic output worth ₹1.75 trillion of aerospace and defence goods and services by

2025, with exports raking in ₹35,000 crore.

The document contains various strategic initiatives that would aid the indigenous

development of modern weaponry, from hypersonic missiles and ace sensors to

stealth submarines and fly-by-wire fighter jets.

Rapid upgradation was required as the rest of the country’s armoury does little

justice to big power stature.

Current situation

India had to place an emergency order for 21 MiG-29 jets with Russia; it was done

to meet an Air Force shortfall that the local production of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd’s

Tejas has failed to address.

Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) scientists claim

success in several projects, including the Tejas design but decisions on attaining for

our armed forces are made through a complex process which involves service chiefs,

technocrats and politicians and that ends up favouring foreign purchases.

India was the world’s third largest military spender in 2019, with a bill of over $71

billion, after the US and China. Though finer details of defence deals are usually

confidential.

Long drawn out attainment processes may partly be to blame for our private sector

into the act have not progressed too well.

Way forward

A big push for “made in India" defence systems calls an entire ecosystem of experiments,

ideas and technical skills into being, it could help our economy leap ahead too.

16. The claim on Nuclear deterrence is misleading

Source: The Hindu

Context: The claim on Nuclear deterrence is misleading. World needs to understand the

vulnerability of nuclear weapons and should take steps to disarm nuclear weapons

Nuclear states: As of now, 9 countries around the world possess nuclear weapons. They

are, the United States, the Soviet Union/Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, Israel,

India, Pakistan, and North Korea.

Vulnerability of Nuclear Weapons:

Large Scale damage: The two atom bombs dropped on the Japanese city of

Hiroshima and Nagasaki has killed over 2,00,000 people and got many more injured.

Agility: Nuclear weapons can be launched at any time against any target around the

world.

Absence of effective deterrence mechanism: The introduction of Ballistic missiles

has made it nearly impossible for any ballistic missile defence systems to intercept

nuclear weapons as they manoeuvre with great speed.

Destabilise the world: It not only threatens Nuclear states but also the non-nuclear

states.

Environment destruction: over 2000 nuclear tests conducted by nuclear states to

demonstrate their explosive power has caused long-lasting damage to the

environment and public health.

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Concerns over the controllability of nuclear weapons: In the real world, it is not

possible for planners to have complete control over the use of nuclear weapons. The

desire to believe in the perfect controllability and safety of nuclear weapons is more

likely to lead to accidents and possibly to the use of nuclear weapons.

The false notion of Nuclear deterrence

The claims made by the nuclear states that, possessing nuclear weapon will prevent

war, promote stability and use of nuclear weapons is impossible owing to its large-

scale destructive ability does not have any evidence.

Contradicting to the claims, Nuclear threats can be provoking, which might get

escalated. For example, the case with Fidel Castro during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Even some of the experts have clearly stated that the idea of possessing nuclear

weapons for deterrence is an illusion and the possibility of a nuclear war is much a

reality.

Conclusion: There are many instances during which the world came close to nuclear war.

These dangerous situations were averted due to diverse and contingent factors and not

because of the idea of nuclear deterrence. Hence, the nuclear states should advance

themselves towards nuclear disarmament to build a safe world.

Syllabus: GS3: Digital Infrastructure

17. Herculean task of digitising India


Context: With Googles commitment to invest $10 billion in India, it needs to focus on

fulfilling the below mentioned inconsistencies in India’s digital space.

Digitalisation paradox in India:

Though penetration of smartphones is increasing, India’s internet speed is slow or

varied across the landscape.

India leads the web censorship with maximum number of internet shutdowns yet it

recognises the internet as a human right.

Inspite of increasing internet users, app downloads and social media users India’s

digital preparedness is unsatisfactory.

Digital Divide:

Gender divide: Only 21 per cent of women are mobile internet users, while the

percentage of men that uses mobile internet is 2 times that of women.

Rural-Urban Divide: India’s two-third population lives in rural areas yet only a

quarter of the population has access to internet.

Digital Payments: With only 22 per cent of recipients of migrant remittances have access

to banks within one km, meaningful digitalisation should make electronic cash transfers as

a priority this would largely empower informal migrant workers.

Digitalising Agriculture: Developing Precision farming that uses predictive data analytics

and basic artificial intelligence, aiding farmers access to credit at lower costs and

innovating technologies to forecast commodity prices can create a value addition of $33

billion annually in Indian agriculture.

Data governance policies: India is a data rich country, with 650 million internet users but

it lacks a forward-looking inclusive data governance policy. With its vast experience in data

governance rules abroad Google can offer data governance guidance to Indian lawmakers

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Secure Digital Space: India’s cyber space is faced with the problem of “infodemic” with

wide circulation of Fake news and misinformations. Although, Google is credited for

launching Fact Check information and removal of 8,20,000 misleading videos by YouTube it

can further deeper investments in both human and machine intelligence to strengthen

algorithm that could spread misinformation.

Way forward:

Government should play an enabling factor by developing more progressive data

accessibility laws to enhance the country’s digital space

The government must invest in skill-building and education at all levels to translate

these changes into productive work.

Gs3: Inclusive Growth, Growth, Development and Employment.

18. Increasing the demand by enhancing the income of Low paid work force


Context: Measures to address India’s structural demand problem.

Boosting domestic demand: With external demand will remain low in the upcoming days,

we need to focus on domestic demand for economic revival

Focus on low income groups: Till now, India’s growth has been driven the demand

generated by the high- and middle-income groups which has got stagnated. So, we need to

shift focus to increase demand from low income groups by enhancing their income.

Structure of Indian workforce

According to Periodic Labour Force Survey (2018-19), only 10 per cent of the

workforce is engaged in regular formal jobs having earnings above the decent

minimum wages

Whereas, 14 % of Indian workforce are engaged in regular informal jobs earn

equivalent to or slightly below a minimum wage.

The self-employed and casual workers constitute 50 per cent and 24 per cent of the

workforce with average earnings below a minimum wage.

Measures to increase earnings of low-income groups

Need to increase productivity in the informal sector thereby increasing the incomes of

low-wage workers.

Ensuring a decent minimum wage for the casual labourers will also help to set higher

wage floor for others engaged in low-paid work thereby enhancing their earnings.

Also, it is important to ensure minimum wages paid in public workfare programmes

such as MGNREGA that will benefit the unskilled labourers.

Apart from paying minimum wages public workfare programmes needs to be made

universal to employ more people, currently it less than 4 per cent of casual workers

are employed.

More importantly we need shift in policy approach to determine minimum wages. So

far, the approach has been to prevent exploitation and to ensure bare sustenance

of life. Instead we need to aspire for providing them a decent wage that enables them

to maintain a reasonable level of consumption expenditure. For this purpose, the

minimum wage can be linked to the consumption expenditure of the relatively better-

off group of workers.

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/minimum-wage-mgnrega-workers-employment-6544924/



ForumIAS

Way forward:

The Code on Wages (2019) that seeks to universalise minimum wages and extend

them to the unorganised sector is a step-in right direction.

The agricultural sector and the construction sector in particular are important source

of employment generation especially for casual labourers. Raising the minimum

wages of casual labourers will play a critical role in economic revival of the country.

Conclusion: Policy intervention to determine a minimum wage floor will not only enhance

the livelihood of low paid workers will also fuel the much-needed demand for growth.

Documents

9pm Compilation...2020/08/09 · 9 PM Compilation for the Month of August (First week), 2020 Created with love by ForumIAS- the knowledge network for civil services. Visit academy.forumias.com